Thursday, June 20, 2013

A message from Caroline Simons at this important time

Dear Friend,

This is a defining week in our history as legislation for abortion comes before the Dáil.

Many members of the Oireachtas are refusing to engage in meaningful discussion on what the Government’s proposal entails. It is very troubling to see TDs pressurised by party handlers and the party whip to vote for abortion.

People are rightly offended when Government spokespersons distract from the abortion bill by focusing on the unacceptable behaviour of a tiny minority (whose allegience is unknown) in order to demonise the whole pro-life movement.

We all know that the overwhelming majority of pro-life people debate this issue in a calm, courteous and responsible manner. As Labour TD Joanna Tuffy tweeted recently, “the vast majority of correspondence from my pro-life constituents is respectful” and that pro-life people were “just putting their viewpoints across.”

There is always a tiny minority of individuals who behave inappropriately. When someone on the pro-life side does so, we must not hesitate to name it and make it clear that such behaviour is wrong and counterproductive. But we cannot allow it to distract from the main issues in the debate.

In recent weeks the Pro Life Campaign and some of the other pro-life groups have received vile and disturbing threats on phone, email and social media. But rather than run to the media, we reported them to the Gardaí. Instead of drip feeding stories to the media in an attempt to damage the pro-life movement, it would be more appropriate for members of government to similarly report any threatening incidents to the Gardai.

No question, this is a challenging time for us all. But I'm sure you'll agree that it’s also a privilege to be part of such a noble cause. Together, we are playing a vital role in building a culture of respect for the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.

The Government may well think the pro-life groundswell evident today will die away in a month or so when they turn their attention to other government business. As the pro-life vigils have shown, that’s not going to happen. For us, it will just be a beginning.

There will be plenty of time after this phase of the campaign to expose the lies and misrepresentation that has gone on.

But for now, we need to stay focussed on the task at hand. Let's continue to do all we can to urge our politicians to consider the real implications of this terrible Bill and encourage as many as possible to vote against it.

And let's encourage everyone we know to stay positive and do the cause proud.